Map of the British and French North America, 1775
Item 11827 info
Maine Historical Society
Englishman John Mitchell's monumental map demonstrates how British and French governments attempted to use European laws to control Indigenous Homelands. The effects of settler colonialism are visualized here, like a snapshot in time. The land that had been affected by colonization since the 1600s show English and French place names imposed on Native territories, especially along the coast of what is now Maine and Massachusetts.
Areas further west retain Native names—and the mystery of the unknown and what the European Imperialist mind viewed as "empty spaces." Notes on the map describe how the land might be used for profit, the natural resources and potential for settlement of frontier regions. Some describe the Tribes and show ancient Native routes.
This map is dated 1775 but is the seventh version of the original, which was printed in 1755. The Library of Congress's Geography and Map Division called Mitchell's map "the most important map in American history."
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